Porto Tasty: Porto Augusto's: A Family Business

Porto Augusto's: A Family Business

Port Wine is a well known wine and is appreciated all around the world. This wine has been part of Porto's culture since the 17th century.

The cellars, located in Vila Nova de Gaia, are part of the city's many tourist attractions. Porto Tasty accompanied a guided visit to one of the warehouses of Porto Augusto's.

The Augusto family has been linked to Port Wine since the 1970s. In 2014 they decided to create their own brand: Porto Augusto's. The business stayed in family and is already in its 3rd generation, being one of the only brands of Port Wine that has a 100% Portuguese root.

This company has two farms in the Douro region, a region demarcated Marquês de Pombal in 1756. It is in the farms in Sabrosa and Régua that the wine is produced and only in its last phase, the aging, the wine goes to the cellars in Vila Nova Of Gaia.

Porto Augusto's is not a multinational, so it produces less and does not export, something that enhances the exclusivity of the brand. For tourists visiting Porto Augusto's accepts to place orders for their customers' houses, regardless of the country in which they are located.

In the guided tour the production process of the Port Wine is explained and some curiosities are told.

The grapes are harvested for 4 weeks and are then transported to the lagares (wineries) where they are trodden. This technique is only used for the best wines for the rest they use machines. Only family members participate in this process, something that makes this brand very characteristic.

Then it goes to the grate to ferment and then the aguardente (spirit) is added. Traditionally, after this process the wine was transported by boat to Porto, but today more efficient means of transport are used.

There are about 100 types of grapes, Porto Augusto's gives great importance to grape quality and uses specific grapes for each type of wine.

To age, the Port is placed in French oak tunnels or in bottles. Over time, the tone of the wine goes from a lighter color to a darker color. Contact with the tunics also greatly influences this change of color.

The visit also shows some of the instruments that were used in the various stages of production of Port Wine, some of them are still used. During the visit it is also possible to observe the tunnels and the bottles containing the wine for aging.

Before being marketed, the wine is sent to the Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro and Porto for a blind test that determines if the wine can be marketed and in what quantity.

Porto Augusto's has a variety of wines, distinguished by the grapes used and the time and mode of aging. Vintage Port Wine is considered a special wine that after opening can only be consumed in 3 days. The rest can be open 2 or 3 years depending on the type of Wine.

At the end of the visit Porto Tasty had the opportunity to participate in a wine tasting provided by Porto Augusto's. In the tasting, 4 wines were tasted: Fine White, Fine Tawny, White Special Reserve and Red Special Reserve.

To know more about Porto Augusto's, visit the website. Porto Tasty recommends that when you visit Porto you should take part in one of the guided tours. The staff is very pleasant and welcoming and it is possible to choose the language in which the visit is given.